Martial Mysteries Solved!
Mystery and mythology often obscure the martial arts. Matrixing is the use of physics to penetrate the mysteries of the martial arts. This article details the type of thought I was using when developing Matrixing.[l:2:J]
The pentagram is sometimes used as a key to Chinese martial arts. The five elements of the universe are represented by this key. Water, earth, fire, wood and metal are considered to be the five elements.
The five elements can be arranged in an order that is thought of as generative. To be generative means that each element makes the next. Earth, for instance makes metal which makes water, which makes wood, which makes fire, which makes earth.
A degenerative order can also be envisioned. In the degenerative each element destroys the next element. Fire is destroyed by water is destroyed by earth is destroyed by metal is destroyed by wood is destroyed by fire.
There is a logic to each sequence, and there are different ways, according to individual viewpoints, to arrange the sequences. After all, whether metal a weapon or a shovel or an ax can shift the sequence. This can create a variety of arguments concerning the arranging of the five elements.
The sequence to be arranged in the martial arts, I reasoned, should be arranged according to the potential motion of the element. Fire is towards, wood doesnt move, earth sinks, metal extends and water clings to. Thus, each element is understood according to the direction it takes.
Wood is motionless. Wood doesnt move. Wood waits for the attack.
Fire moves towards. It is aggressive. Fire destroys wood.
Earth is a motion towards the earth. When aggression comes in, earth will move it downward. Earth grapples with fire in this manner.
Water is liquid and flowing. When somebody tries to grab, you go with to defeat. Water destroys earth.
Metal is a weapon. A weapon enables one to extend his distance to reach somebody who is being liquid. Metal destroys water.
Wood is immobile. When somebody rushes with weapon, to defeat the closing of distance, the defender must go motionless and let the attack over extend, or pass by and miss. Wood defeats metal.
This is one visualization of how combat can be related to the Chinese pentagram. One can see how motion relates better than an element, and what was discovered in times past can be better understood. The analogy is a bit loose, however.
I would have preferred to leave metal out as it is a product of civilization and not natural. This would leave a square, which would be a bit more manageable. Or perhaps replace metal with spirit.
Science eventually overtakes mythology. Mysticism is built upon mystery, which is merely another way of saying we dont understand something. The development of Matrixing is the creation of a science which analyzes motion, and which sheds light upon the confusions of myth and mystery in the martial arts.